Tough Act To Follow

December 1, 1999|New York Daily News

Seinfeld alum Jason Alexander is heading back to prime-time series TV, signing a deal with 20th Century Fox Television to develop and star in a half-hour series as early as next fall, industry sources confirm.

Alexander, who played George Costanza, has his eye on a detective-themed comedy, which could put him in competition with fellow Seinfeld cast member Michael Richards.

Richards, aka Cosmo Kramer, is partnering with Castle Rock Entertainment to star in a detective-themed half-hour fall comedy for NBC.

Alexander said he decided to do another series partly because it fit his lifestyle better than a theater project or a one-hour drama. "I have two kids who like it when I do a series because it keeps me home on a regular schedule," he said.

The deal is expected to pay Alexander more than $200,000 per episode, a far cry from the $600,000 Seinfeld paychecks he was receiving when the show ended in May 1998.

Alexander spoofs William Shatner's Kirk, who returns to present-day Earth to save the Star Trek series.

A Star Trek aficionado (he appeared in a Star Trek: Voyager episode), Alexander said his real dream job wasn't acting, but "to captain the Enterprise. I thought that was a fine career goal."

He's also a huge admirer of Shatner's, whom he met when a mutual friend introduced Alexander on his birthday to the Star Trek star.

"My friends invited me, very cryptically, to go to this little coffee shop and in walked Bill Shatner, who sat down and said, `Hi, I'm your birthday present,'" Alexander said. "After we got over the initial awkwardness of it, it was just a wonderful event. We chatted for three hours."

Alexander's next project is Universal Pictures' upcoming The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, in which he will voice the Boris Badenov character.